IN THE THIRTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER S-2012-053 (Supersedes Administrative Orders S-2011-010 and S-2012-038) FORECLOSURE PROCEDURES Administrative Order S-2012-050 established General Civil Divisions "M" and "N" as temporary divisions to which senior judges are assigned to manage residential mortgage foreclosure cases. Division "M" consists of all residential mortgage foreclosure cases that were initiated on or before December 31, 2009. Division "N' consists of all residential mortgage foreclosure cases that have been initiated on or after January 1, 2010. In light of these new divisions, it is necessary to update the foreclosure procedures in the General Civil Division. By the power vested in the chief judge under article V, section 2(d) of the Florida Constitution; section 43.26, Florida Statutes; Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.215(b)(2); and Florida Supreme Court Administrative Order AOSC11-44 (Managed Mediation Program for Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Cases); it is therefore ORDERED: 1. Transfer of Cases A. General Civil Division "M" All residential mortgage foreclosure cases that were initiated on or before December 31, 2009 and are currently pending in any division of the General Civil Division, including the East Division, will be transferred to General Civil Division "M" by October 1, 2012. Any closed residential mortgage foreclosure case that was initiated on or before December 31, 2009 and is reopened after the effective date of this administrative order will be transferred to General Civil Division "M." B. General Civil Division "N" All residential mortgage foreclosure cases that have been initiated on or after January 1, 2010 and are currently pending in any division of the General Civil Division, including the East Division, will be transferred to General Civil Division "N" by October 1, 2012. Any closed residential mortgage foreclosure case that was initiated on or after January 1, 2010 and is reopened after the effective date of this administrative order will be transferred to General Civil Division "N." 2. New Cases All residential mortgage foreclosure cases filed after the effective date of this administrative order will be assigned to General Civil Division "N." 3. Judicial Assignments Senior judges will be assigned to General Civil Divisions "M" and "N" on a rotating basis as determined by the administrative judge of the General Civil Division. If an emergency matter arises in Division "M" or "N" and there are no senior judges present in the courthouse, the emergency matter will be referred to the administrative judge of the General Civil Division for review.
4. Service A. Constructive Service- Affidavit of Diligent Search and Inquiry To obtain constructive service in a case, plaintiff's counsel must complete and file an affidavit of diligent search and inquiry as provided in Form 1.924, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. A uniform Affidavit of Search and Inquiry may be accessed at http://www.fljud13.org/forms.aspx. B. Military Service - Memorandum for Certificate of Military Service If plaintiff's counsel does not know whether a defendant is on active duty in a branch of the United States military service, plaintiff's counsel must complete and file a certificate of military service substantially similar to the memorandum for certificate of military service designated as Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure Form 12.912(a). A uniform Memorandum for Certificate of Military Service may be accessed at http://www.fljud13.org/forms.aspx. C. Default Judgment- Nonmilitary Affidavit If plaintiff's counsel seeks a default judgment and the defendant has been properly served and has not responded to the mortgage foreclosure complaint, plaintiff's counsel must complete and file a nonmilitary affidavit substantially similar to the affidavit designated as Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure Form 12.912(b). A uniform Nonmilitary Affidavit may be accessed at http://www.fljud13.org/forms.aspx. 5. Motions A. Disposition of Non-Summary Judgment Motions Unless the presiding judge directs otherwise, a copy of all non-summary judgment motions must be served on the presiding judge when the original motion is filed with the Clerk. The presiding judge may decide to rule on a non-summary judgment motion either with or without a hearing. If a judge decides to rule on a non-summary judgment motion without a hearing, the judge will enter an order disposing of the motion within 30 days from the date of service of a copy of the motion on the presiding judge. Unless the presiding judge directs otherwise, a party may not set a non-summary judgment motion for hearing until at least 30 days have elapsed from the date of service of a copy of the motion on the presiding judge. The court may require a party filing a non-summary judgment motion to submit, along with the motion, an original and appropriate copies of a proposed order and addressed stamped envelopes to all parties. B. Calendaring Attorneys must schedule all summary judgment motion hearings and any non-summary judgment motions authorized to be set for hearing above in the respective foreclosure sections through the Judicial Automated Workflow System (JAWS). The JAWS may be accessed at the following link: http://www.fljud13.org/jaws.aspx. A signed copy of any motion scheduled and the notice of hearing must be uploaded at the time the hearing is scheduled. The court may unilaterally cancel without notice any hearing set on the JAWS if the court has already entered an order on a non-summary judgment motion. C. Summary Judgment Motions i. Prerequisites to Scheduling Hearing Prior to selecting a mortgage foreclosure summary judgment hearing date on the JAWS, attomeys of record for plaintiffs must file with the Clerk the motion for summary judgment and a Page 2 of8
uniform affidavit titled "Affidavit of Compliance with Foreclosure Procedures." The uniform affidavit form may be found at http://www.fljud13.org/forms.aspx. The affidavit swears or affirms that certain requisite actions have been completed and the dates on which they have occurred. Hearings scheduled on the JAWS prior to the filing of the summary judgment motion and the affidavit may be cancelled by the court without notice. ii. Original Note or Lost Instrument Affidavit Required Section 4 of the above-referenced Affidavit of Compliance with Foreclosure Procedures requires the attorney of record for the plaintiff to swear that the note and mortgage were filed with the Clerk on a specific date or that an affidavit of lost instrument was filed with the Clerk on a specific date. If an affidavit of lost instrument is filed with the Clerk, the affidavit must contain an agreement to indemnify the maker(s) or other adequate consideration. See section 673.3091(2), Florida Statutes ("The court may not enter judgment in favor of the person seeking enforcement unless it finds that the person required to pay the instrument is adequately protected."). If the note does not name the plaintiff as the payee, the plaintiff must submit evidence of: (1) the note bearing a special indorsement in favor of plaintiff; (2) the note bearing a blank indorsement; (3) the payee having assigned the note to the plaintiff; or (4) an affidavit of ownership to prove its status as a holder of the note. m. Notice o(hearing Within three days of obtaining a summary judgment hearing date, attorneys of record for plaintiffs must serve a notice of hearing for the summary judgment hearing on defendant(s). iv. Cancellations Cancellations less than 20 days before the hearing date require a notice of cancellation with an explanation of the reason for cancellation. 6. Mediation A. Hillsborough County Bar Foundation Designated Mediation Provider The Hillsborough County Bar Foundation is designated as the mediation provider for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit to provide and manage the mediation of residential mortgage foreclosure cases on a case-by-case basis. Mediation services provided by the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation will include maintaining a web-enabled information platform, the coordination of the collection and exchange of financial documents, coordinating and scheduling the mediation conference, providing mediation facilities, assignment of a mediator and other related administrative tasks associated with the mediation conference. B. Mediation Referral Procedures The following procedures will be followed for the mediation of residential mortgage foreclosure cases in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. i. After service of the complaint, either party may request in writing to the presiding judge that such case be referred to mediation. Upon receipt of a request for mediation, the presiding judge will evaluate and determine, on a case by case basis, whether the case should be referred to mediation in accordance with section 44.102, Florida Statutes and Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.700(a). Page 3 of 8
ii. The presiding judge may sua sponte evaluate and determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether a case should be referred to mediation in accordance with section 44.102, Florida Statutes and Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.700(a). 111. If the presiding judge determines that a case should be referred to mediation, the judge will enter a "Uniform Order of Referral to Foreclosure Mediation." A copy of the Uniform Order of Referral to Foreclosure Mediation may be found on the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit's webpage at www.fljud13.org/forms.aspx. Parties wishing to utilize mediation services other than those provided through the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation must follow the procedures set out in the Uniform Order of Referral to Foreclosure Mediation. Only Supreme Court certified circuit civil mediators who are specially trained in mortgage foreclosure cases may be designated to provide mediation services in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. C. Statistical Information On a quarterly basis, the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation will provide the Court Administrator with statistical information relating to cases referred to the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation for mediation. The statistical information will include: i. The number of cases referred to mediation; ii. iii. iv. The number of cases in which a mediation conference was held; The number of cases in which a mediation agreement was reached; The number of cases pending resolution; v. The number of cases returned to the court due to plaintiff nonparticipation; The number of cases returned to the court due to defendant non- vi. participation. vii. The number of cases in which the parties chose a mediator other than the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation; vm. The number of cases pending resolution by the court after referral to mediation and the mediation report or the notice of non-participation has been filed; and ix. The number of cases disposed by the court after referral to mediation and the mediation report or notice of non-participation has been filed. This statistical information will be reported in a format approved by the Court Administrator. Page 4 of 8
7. Case Management A. Division "M" Foreclosure Sections I 1 and II 2 continue in existence for the purpose of managing residential foreclosure cases in Division "M." Attorneys must set hearings for Division "M" cases in the respective sections on the JAWS. Unrepresented parties may schedule hearings by contacting the appropriate secretary or case manager in Section I at sectionlrmf@fljud13.org or Section II at sectioniirmf@fljudl3.org. If an unrepresented party does not have access to electronic mail, the party may schedule hearings by contacting the appropriate secretary or case manager at (813) 272-8584. B. Division "N" Foreclosure Section IIe is created for the purpose of managing residential foreclosure cases in Division "N." Attorneys must set hearings for Division "N" cases in Section III on the JAWS. Unrepresented parties may schedule hearings by contacting the appropriate secretary or case manager in Section III at sectioniiirmf@fljud13.org. If an unrepresented party does not have access to electronic mail, the party may schedule hearings by contacting the appropriate secretary or case manager at (813) 272-6872. 8. Telephonic Hearings For any multi-party telephonic hearings, all parties must be conferenced into the call prior to the call being placed to the presiding judge's office. Attorneys must use COURT CALL (http://www.courtcall.com/ccallp/info?c=ccgeneral) for telephonic appearances for motions for summary judgments and other motion hearings in Divisions "M" and "N." Telephonic appearances are not permitted for foreclosure non-jury trials; attorneys and a client representative must be present at trial. 9. Foreclosure.Judgment Packet All foreclosure judgment packets must be received by the presiding judge's office at least five business days prior to all scheduled hearing dates for motions for summary judgment. The foreclosure judgment packet must include the following documents: Proposed Uniform Final Judgment of Foreclosure (sale date will be inserted by the court at the time of the hearing) with sufficient copies. The uniform final judgment form must be used. The most current Uniform Final Judgment form may be accessed at http://www.fljudl3.org/forms.aspx; Certificate of Sale; Certificate of Disbursements; Certificate of Title; and Three copies of stamped addressed envelopes. 1 Section I consists of all residential mortgage foreclosure cases that were initiated on or before December 31, 2009 and were originally filed in General Civil Divisions A, B, C, D, F & R. 2 Section II consists of all residential mortgage foreclosure cases that were initiated on or before December 31,2009 and were originally filed in General Civil Divisions G, H, I, J, L & T. 3 Section III consists of all residential mortgage foreclosure cases that have been initiated on or after January 1, 2010. Page 5 of 8
Proposed final judgments prepared by counsel must be delivered to the presiding judge, not to the clerk. If the clerk receives any proposed final judgment intended for signature by a judge, the clerk is not responsible for delivery of the proposed final judgment to the presiding judge. If the clerk receives a proposed final judgment intended for signature by a judge, the clerk may return the proposed judgment to the sender or destroy it without notice. See Administrative Order S-2012-031 (Delivery of Proposed Orders). If the plaintiff's counsel has failed to timely submit a complete foreclosure packet to the presiding judge's office, the scheduled hearing will be cancelled. 10. Notice of Sale and Proof of Publication The plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney is responsible for preparing, under section 45.031(2), Florida Statutes, and submitting the Notice of Sale to a legal publication. The original Notice of Sale and Proof of Publication must be filed with the Clerk at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled sale date. 11. Judicial Sales A. Dates On and after the effective date of this administrative order, judicial sales will be held daily (excluding weekends and holidays), under sections 45.031(10) and 45.035(1) and (3), Florida Statutes, by electronic means only. All judgments or orders scheduling or rescheduling judicial sales will indicate that the sale will be conducted electronically online at http://www.hillsborough.realforeclose.com. All electronic sales will begin at 10:00 a.m. and continue until all scheduled sales have been completed. The direction under this subsection will supersede any contrary language contained in an individual judgment or order scheduling or rescheduling a judicial sale for a date on or after October 1, 2012. B. Bidding Increments The deputy Clerk conducting the sale will require all tendered bids to be in increments of at least $100.00. Any attempt to tender a bid to the deputy Clerk conducting the judicial sale that is less than the minimum $100.00 will not be recognized by the deputy Clerk conducting the judicial sale. Minimum bidding increments for online sales will be $100.00. C. Debarment for Failure to Pay Any Part of the Bid Price Any successful bidder who cannot pay the required deposit at the time of the judicial sale or who fails to pay the balance of the bid or other required costs of the judicial sale within the time required by the Clerk will be reported to the judge who ordered the judicial sale. The court may enter an order debarring that bidder from participating in future judicial sales for a period of time, up to one month, or longer if such conduct is found to have been repetitive within the past 12 months. D. Cancellation of Foreclosure Sale l. Deadline The deadline for cancellation of a judicial sale and for payment of the Clerk's sale fee is the day of the scheduled sale, no later than 9:30 a.m. Page 6 of 8
ii. Upon Plaintiff's Notice of Cancellation The Clerk will cancel any scheduled foreclosure sale upon receipt by the above-referenced deadline of a Notice of Cancellation of Foreclosure Sale submitted by plaintiffs counsel The Clerk will accept a facsimile of the Notice of Cancellation of Foreclosure Sale at the number designated on the Clerk's website at www.hillsclerk.com (Foreclosure Sales) and the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit website at www.fljud13.org (General Civil Division). The original Notice of Cancellation of Foreclosure Sale must be filed with the Clerk. The uniform Notice of Cancellation of Foreclosure Sale form may be accessed at http://www.fljudl3.org/forms.aspx. The Clerk will notify the online vendor of all cancellations of judicial sales. m. Upon Suggestion o(bankruptcy Unless otherwise directed by the presiding judge or a United States Bankruptcy Judge, the Clerk will cancel any scheduled foreclosure sale if any deputy Clerk assigned to the foreclosure department of the General Civil Division receives, no later than the above-referenced deadline, a suggestion of bankruptcy on behalf of a named defendant in a pending foreclosure action. iv. Upon Plaintiff's Failure to Pay Additional Filing Fee If any difference between the estimated amount in controversy of the claim and the actual value of the claim causes there to be an additional filing fee owed by the plaintiff under section 28.241(l)(a), Florida Statutes, the plaintiff must pay the additional fee prior to the judicial sale. If any additional filing fee owed is not paid prior to the judicial sale, the Clerk will cancel the judicial sale. 12. Verified Motion for Writ of Possession The federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 (Pub. L. No. 111-22, 701-704 (2009))("Act") provides that in the case of a foreclosure on any dwelling or residential real property, the party taking title to the property assumes the property subject to the rights of a bona fide tenant. Under the Act, any bona fide tenant occupying the property as of the date of a "notice of foreclosure" is protected by the Act's provisions. The federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act Extension and Clarification (Pub. L. No. 111-203, 1484 (2010)) clarifies that the date of the "notice of foreclosure" is "the date on which complete title to a property is transferred to a successor entity or person as a result of an order of a court or pursuant to provisions in a mortgage, deed of trust, or security deed." In Florida, complete title to a property is transferred to a successor entity when the certificate of title issues under section 45.031, Florida Statutes. In Florida, therefore, the Act protects any bona fide tenant who takes occupancy of the property before a certificate of title is issued to the successor in interest as a result of the foreclosure. When a plaintiff seeks an order directing the Clerk to issue a writ of possession, a verified motion must be filed swearing or affirming that the residence sold at the judicial sale is either: (1) unoccupied; or (2) occupied by the debtor; or (3) occupied by a bona fide tenant (as defined in the Act) who has been given at least a 90-day notice to vacate AND the motion does not seek an order that violates any tenant's or tenants' right to continued occupancy under the Act. A uniform verified motion for writ of possession may be accessed at http://www.fljud13.org/forms.aspx. 13. Applicability All sections of this administrative order apply to residential mortgage foreclosure cases. With the exception of sections 6 (Mediation), 7 (Case Management), and 12 (Verified Motion for Page 7 of 8
Writ of Possession), all other sections of this administrative order apply to non-residential mortgage foreclosure cases. 14. Previous Administrative Orders Superseded This administrative order supersedes Administrative Order S-2011-01 0 (Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Case Management & Mandatory Mediation of Homestead Foreclosure Cases) and Administrative Order S-2012-038 (Foreclosure Procedures). 15. Effective Date This administrative order is effective October 1, 2012. It is ORDERED in Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida, on this <.f7~ day of September, 2012. tk~/(~ I Manuel.. \ V Menendez._lr I,-ehief Judge Original to: Copy to: Pat Frank, Clerk of the Court All General Civil Division Judges Hillsborough County Bar Association Hillsborough County Bar Foundation Page 8 of 8